Shelf brackets

ABSTRACT

A shelf bracket having a vertical surface adapted to engage a wall and having a plate-like tab extending upwardly therefrom to be attached to the wall by a fastener and hidden from view by the supported shelf.

United States Patent 1191 Sicard [451 Sept. 24, 1974 I 1 SHELF BRACKETS [76] Inventor: Marcel Clarence Sicard, 1666 N.

Rolling Acres, New Haven, Conn. 06410 [22] Filed: Sept. 13, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 288,504

2,365,252 12/1944 Daum 248/235 3,652,048 3/1972 Hartman 211/90 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 592,819 5/1925 France 211/90 11,077 9/1885 Great Britain 248/248 160,396 3/1933 Switzerland 248/248 41,771 10/1969 Finland 248/235 129,840 5/1928 Switzerland 248/235 Primary ExaminerRoy D. Frazier Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Charles J. Worth 5 7 ABSTRACT A shelf bracket having a vertical surface adapted to engage a wall and having a plate-like tab extending upwardly therefrom to be attached to the wall by a fastener and hidden from view by the supported shelf.

1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures 1. SHELF BRACKETS This invention relates generally to means for mounting shelves on walls and more particularly to shelf brackets therefor.

For centuries people have devised many ways for supporting shelves. They have been hung from ceilings, supported from the floor and later, supported by walls. Over the years, means for supporting wall mounted shelves have become appreciably better. Finally such means have evolved into triangular wall brackets. These normally have two or three fasteners spaced along its vertical rise and below its horizontal shelf supporting surface. When the self is mounted, these fasteners are readily seen or expensive ways of camouflage have been used to hide them from view.

Further, such brackets with multiple fasteners are difficult to mount vertically and when they are not, the supporting fastener capabilities are greatly reduced and the shelf supporting surface of the bracket and the shelf lack face to face contact. Because of the mounting difficulties, wall standards are used when one shelf is to be mounted over another. Such standards have considerable depth which holds the shelves away from the wall and they detract from the decorative appearance of the shelves.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide shelf brackets which are easily mounted with hidden mounting means.

Another object of the present invention is to provide floating shelf mounting brackets which will not create induced forces to weaken the bracket mounting means.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide the foregoing brackets with a minimum of mounting means.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear more fully hereinafter from the consideration of the detailed description which follows, taken together with the accompanying drawings wherein several embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for illustration purposes only and are not to be construed as defining the limits of the invention.

FIG. I is a side elevation with a portion broken away illustrating a bracket made in accordance with the present invention supporting a shelf.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the base of the bracket of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating a modified connection.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a unitary bracket made in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side elevation of the upper portion of the vertical leg of the bracket of FIG. 5.

At the outset, it should be understood that the material per se is no limitation to making a bracket in accordance with the present invention. Such brackets may be made of wood, metal or a suitable plastic, or a combination of materials where brackets are made with multiple parts. It should also be understood that the brackets shown in the drawings illustrate only basic form and such brackets may have fanciful filligree, sculpture or framework providing support between the outer portions of the horizontal and vertical surfaces.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 3, a bracket made in accordance with the present invention preferably is provided with a base or base plate 10 adapted to be hung on a vertical wall or surface W by a fastener F, and a generally triangular support portion or plate 20 connected to the base plate 10 by means not visible when the bracket is hung.

The base plate 10 has an elongated body portion 11 with a deformed central portion 12 which is spaced from the wall W. A keyhole slot 13 is provided adjacent the upper end of the deformed portion 12 while an opening 14, axially aligned with and spaced from the slot 13, is provided near the lower end of the deformed portion 12 of the body 11. The upper end of the base plate 10 is provided with a plate-like tab or relatively thin flat top portion 15 to be hidden from view by the shelf S to be supported. The top portion 15 is provided with a central opening 16 which is axially aligned with the keyhole slot 13 and opening 14.

The support portion 20 is illustrated as a relatively thin plate-like triangular member providing a horizontal surface 21 for supporting the shelf S, and a vertical surface 22 which extends downwardly from the horizontal surface and abuts the deformed portion 12 of the base plate 10. A hooked projection 23 and a straight projection 24, spaced from one another, extend outwardly from the vertical surface 22 and extend through the slot 13 and opening 14, respectively, to connect the base plate 10 and support member 20 together without visible connecting means. The projection 23 engaging the top and bottom surfaces of the slot 13 thereby pre venting relative vertical movement between the plates 10 and 20'. The horizontal surface 21 which extends outwardly from the base plate 10 toward the front. of the shelf S, may be provided with teeth or may be otherwise roughened to prevent the shelf from sliding. The triangular portion defined by construction lines and the diagonal surface 25 may be provided by a unitary web, as shown, or by an insert or a diagonal leg.

The plate-like member 20 alternatively may be of a U-shape with the bight portion providing the vertical surface 22 and the projections 23 and 24 extending outwardly from the bight portion.

Referring particularly to FIG. 4, a support portion 26 made of wood or suitable plastic of substantial thickness may be provided in place of the support portion 20. The horizontal surface 27 now abuts and may be cemented to the deformed portion 12 of the base plate 10. The base plate 10 and support portion 26 are primarily joined together by a pair of threaded fasteners 29; one extending through the circular portion 28 0f the keyhole slot 13 and the other through the opening 14.

A unitary bracket 30 made in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG. 5. In this embodiment a single metal strip is bent into a triangular shape providing a vertical leg 31', a diagonal leg 32 and a hori-v zontal leg 33, preferably provided with a continuous deformed portion 34 generally corresponding to the deformation 12 of the base plate 10. The bends between the legs 31 and 32 and 32 and 33 are preferably provided with dimples or deformations 38 for strength ening while the end 37 of the horizontal leg 33 is connected to the vertical leg 31 immediately above the deformation 34 as shown in FIG. 6 by spot welding, brazing, a tab and slot or any other means known in the art suitable for making this connection. The vertical leg 31 is provided with a plate-like tab 35 and opening 36 corresponding to tha tab and opening 16 of the base plate 10. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6, the tab 35 may be provided with a plurality of openings 36 is smaller fasteners F are used. The top surface of the horizontal leg 33 may again be roughened or provided with a spur 39.

It should be readily seen that all fasteners are invisible when the bracket is mounted and the back of the supported shelf S is close to the wall W. By hanging the novel bracket as taught by the invention it is self positioning and self aligning when a shelf is placed on the horizontal supporting surface. With the axis of the fastener F disposed substantially in the mean plane of the shelf S, the primary forces due to supported weight acting on the fastener F are shear forces with very little axial force tending to move the fastener out of the wall W.

1 claim:

1. A bracket for supporting a shelf, comprising a base plate providing an elongated vertical surface to be connected against a vertical wall, and having a plate-like tab extending upwardly from the vertical surface to be hidden from view by the supported shelf and an axial deformation disposed below said tab;

said tab having a single opening therethrough for a fastener for connecting said base plate to the wall and said deformation having a pair of axially spaced openings axially aligned with said single opening through said tab;

a support member providing a horizontal surface to receive the shelf to be supported, and having fastening means hidden from view joining said base plate and support member together with the horizontal surface extending outwardly from said base plate towards the front of the shelf being supported, I

said fastening means being a pair of spaced projections extending through said pair of axially spaced openings;

the opening closer to said tab than the other of said pair of spaced openings being a slot and said projection extending through said slot being hooked and engaging the top and bottom ends of said slot thereby preventing relative vertical movement between said base plate and support member. 

1. A bracket for supporting a shelf, comprising a base plate providing an elongated vertical surface to be connected against a vertical wall, and having a plate-like tab extending upwardly from the vertical surface to be hidden from view by the supported shelf and an axial deformation disposed below said tab; said tab having a single opening therethrough for a fastener for connecting said base plate to the wall and said deformation having a pair of axially spaced openings axially aligned with said single opening through said tab; a support member providing a horizontal surface to receive the shelf to be supported, and having fastening means hidden from view joining said base plate and support member together with the horizontal surface extending outwardly from said base plate towards the front of the shelf being supported, said fastening means being a pair of spaced projections extending through said pair of axially spaced openings; the opening closer to said tab than the other of said pair of spaced openings being a slot and said projection extending through said slot being hooked and engaging the top and bottom ends of said slot thereby preventing relative vertical movement between said base plate and support member. 